Coal-winning device.



J. F. JOY.

COAL WINNING DEVICE. LlcATlN FILED SEPT 22 1 APP I7. D1 ,273,869. Patented July 30, 1918.

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JOSEPH F. JOY, 0F BELLE VERNON, PENNSYLVANIA.

COAL-WINNING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented .hay 3o, '1918.

Application filed September 22, 1917. Serial No. 192,773.

To all whom, it may Concern.'

Be it known that I, JOSEPH F. JOY, a citi- Zen of the United States of America, residing at Belle Vernon. in the county of Fayette and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coal-Winning Devices, of which the following is a. specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in coal winning devices and has among its objects a device of its kind which is simple in construction'and effective in operation.

Prior to my invention it has been customary in winning coal to break the same down from the face of a vein by the use of multi-part wedges, mechanical picks or a blast of dynamite. The first is seldom fully effective and the use thereof requires a large amount of labor and time as a hole must first be drilled into the vein of sufficient size to receive the wedge and after the wedge is inserted in this hole the same is expanded. Necessarily, the wedge has to be of superior quality to undergo the strains incident to its use and considerable power is necessary to expand the same. The mechanical picks are undesirable mainly in view of their bulky nature and the fact that their use produces a. large quantity of fine coal and dust. EX- plosives are not desirable for this purpose in view of the danger incident to their use and doubly so in view of the fact that the 'same is not effective unless a large quantity thereof is used for each blast. Further, it is an acknowledged fact that excessive and reckless use of explosives are attendant with many hazards andare the cause of more or less disastrous mine lires and explosions.

Also the use thereof greatly reduce the value of the coal and produces a great quantity of fine coal and dust.

The primary object of my invention is to overcome the above defects and to this end includes a tapering screw which is adapted to be turned into the face of a vein until the coal is broken ,down to a depth approximately equal to` the depth of apreviously made overcut orl undercut. Thus, in this invention, a simultaneous twisting or .turning and thrust movement of the breaking down or wedge elementr4 occurs by turning the same, and, in view of the threads directly engaging theA material being wedged or broken de wn, more effective results are produced and the wedglng or breaking downl element is constructed of av fewer 'number of parts which are more durable and stronger than those of prior devices for this purpose. By my invention the coal is broken down in the most desirable sizes with a minimum reduction of its value and production of line coal and dust, in which state it may be easily loaded into cars and removed fromthe mine. A further object is to so construct the present device that a drill may simultaneously actin advance of the wedging element to produce a relatively small hole in the vein in order that the wedging element may easily advance, engage the coal and vscrew thereinto to break it down.

A still further object is to provide means whereby the drill may be rotated at a greater speed than the'wedging element to thereby produce a hole entirely clear of obstructions in advance of the wedging element, the same being an aid to the speed and effectiveness with which the said element performs its function.

With these general objects in view and others that will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same con-` sists in the novel structure, combination and arrangement of partsv hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and set forth in the appended claims.

In the Ydrawings like characters of reference indicate similar several views, and

Figure 1 is a 'plan view of one embodiment of my invention and illustrating the position-of the same when in operation in the mine room.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail View, partly in horizontal longitudinalzsection of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a rear end elevational view'of th device shown in Fig. 2. p

Fig. 4 is a side elevational View of the gear casing.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the device, partly in vertical section, illustrating a modified form of gearing for the drill and wedging element.

Fig. Gis a plan View showing the gearingy shown in Fig. 5. v Fig. 7 is a side elevatlonal view showing parts throughout the mately at the point shown in Fig. 1. motor 19 is then started and rotation is thus lrails rest the wheels 7 of a truck 8 which has a suitable motor 9 secured thereon. The

shaft 10 of this motor is liexibly connected by universal joints 11 and shaft section 12 to the vshank 13 of the coal drill 14. .The-

male members of universal joints 15 are suitably supported from the truck 8 and these joints are connected by rods 16 to the universal joints 17, one member 18 of each being carried by the gear casing 19. It will be seen that this construction allows a universal movement of the casing 19 and associated parts relative to the truck, but at the same time prevents rotation of casing 19. J ournaled in and extending through the hub 20 of the casing 1.9 is the hollow shank 21 of the hollow tapering frusto-conical externally threaded wedging or breaking down element 22. The shank 13 is journaled in and eX- tends through the shank 21 to a point where said shank 21 is provided with an 'enlargement 23 apertured as at 24 to form an exit I for material removed vby the drill 14 which extends through the element 22 and beyond the small end thereof. Secured upon the shank 13 adjacent one end thereof and within the casing 19 is a spur gear 25 which meshes with a plurality 0f spur gears 26 each of which in turn4 mesh with the internal rack 27 of the casing 19. The gears 26 are journaled upon pins 28 projecting from the arms 29 of the spider 30 which is splined to shank v 21 and journaled in hub 20.

In the operation of this form of the invention, the facev of the vein is undercut as usual, as outlined by dotted line' Fig. 1, and then the tool is directed to the vein approxi- The imparted to the drill 14 at the same speed as that of the motor shaft, while the element 22 is rotated at a lower speed, it being noted that the gear 25 rotates gears 26 about the pins 28 and in view of the fact that casing 19 is held from rotation and that gears 26 mesh with rack 27 of casing 19 said gears 26 will bodily move around the gear 25 thus rotating spider 30, shank 21 and element 22. The drill 14 rst forms a hole which is then entered by the small end of the element 22 and the further screwing of this element, due to its tapering form and threaded engagement with the coal, causes the coal to be torn away and broken down. This operation is repeated at the point indicated by dotted lines at 31 and 32, if necessary to break the coal down across the entire working face.

Referring to Figs, 5 and 6 it will be noted that the differing speeds of rotation may be imparted to the drill 14 and element 22 by gearing other than the planetary gearing hereinbefore described. In theseiigures the motor or power shaft 33 has a bevel gear 34 secured thereon, and thisgear meshes with another bevel gear 35 secured upon the end Vof the drill shank 13. Upon the 'shaft 33 and spaced from gear 34 is also secured a sprocket wheel 436 around which passes an endless sprocket 'chain 37 which also passes around a sprocket wheel 38 secured upon a suitably supported and rotatable shaft 39. Secured upon the shaft 39 is a worm 40 which meshes with a worm gear 41 carried by the shank 21 of the Wedging element 22. It is obvious that when rotation is imparted to shaft 33 the drill 14 will be driven faster than the element 22 by this gearing.

In Fig. 7 a portable outfit is shown wherein the motor 9 and casing 19 are secured to a base 42 and the motor shaft 10 is connected directly to the auger 14 while the planetary gearing shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is contained by this casing. In the use of this form of .the invention the face of the vein is overcut employed by simply discarding the drill. In

this ligure the wedging element 22 is rotated through suitable gearing 44 between theshank 21 and power shaft 45. Thus. it will be seen that my device is a Valuable adjunct to this type of machine and if mounted and operated to follow the cutter it would break'the coal away in a desirable size and expedite the mining operation.

While the forms of the invention herein shown and described are those which are believed to be the preferred embodiments thereof, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as new is 1. A coal winning device includin an element substantially in the form o a cone havin threads on its outer surface to engage t e coal being broken down, means for the form shown in Figs.

screwing said cone with its small end in advance into said coal, and means operating in advance of said element to form a hole in the coal of a larger diameter than that of the small end of said element.

2. A coal winning device including a wedging element threaded to screw into coal with its small end in advance, a shaft applied to said Wedging element by which the latter is adapted to be turned, and means operating in advance of said element to form a hole in the coal of a larger diameter than that of the Small end of said element.

3. A coal winning device including a Wedging element threaded to screw into coal with its small end in advance, a shaft applied to said wedging1 element by which the latter is adapted to be turned, means for turning said shaft, and means operating in advance of saidelement to form a hole in the coal of a larger diameter than that of the small end of said element.

4. A coal winning device including a shaft having a threaded substantially cone-shaped wedging element lupon one end adapted to be screwed into coal with its small end in advance, and means operating in advance rof said element to form a hole in the coal of a larger diameter than that of the small end of said element.

5. A coal winning device including a threaded substantially cone-shaped Wedging element adapted to be screwed into coal With its small end in advance, and means operating in advance of said element to form a hole in the coal of a larger diameter than that of the small end of said element.

6. A-coal Winning device including an element substantially in the form of a cone having threads on its outer surface to engage the coal being broken down, means for screwing said cone with its small end in advance into said coal, a drill operatingin advance of said element to form a hole in the coal of a smaller diameter than that of the that of the large end of said element, and-a means for rotating said element and said drill respectively at differing speeds.

8. A coalwinning device including a shaft having a threaded substantially cone shaped wedging element upon one end adapted to be screwed into coall with its small end in advance, a drill operating in advance of said element to'form a hole in the coal of a advance of said element to form a hole in the coal of a smaller'ldiameter than that of the large end of said element, and means for rotating said element and said drill simultaneously at differing speeds.

10. A coal winning device including a threaded substantially cone-shaped wedging element adapted to be screwed into coal with its small end in advance, a drill operating in advance of said element to form a hole inV the coal of smaller diameter than that of the large end of said element, and means for rotating said element and said drill whereby the drill is rotated. at a faster speed than said element.

11. A coal Winning device including a support, a motor mounted on said support, a tapered rotatable wedging element, and a flexible drivin -connection between said motor and said e ement.

12. A coal winning device including a support, a motor mounted on said support, a threaded substantially cone-shaped rotatable wedging element adapted to be screwed into coal with its small end in advance, and a flexible driving connection 'between said iotor and saidelement. 13. A coal winning device including a threaded substantially cone-shaped rotatable wedging element adapted to be screwed into coal With its small end in advance, a drill extending through and beyondV the small end of said element and means t0 rotate said element and said drill.

14. A coal Winning device including a threaded substantially cone-shaped rotatable wedging element adapted t0 be screwed into coal with its small end in advance, a drillV extending through and. beyond the small end of said element, and means to rotate said element and said drill respectively at different speeds. y

15. A coal winning device including a threaded substantially cone-shaped rotatable Wedging element adapted to be screwed into Ncoal with its small end in advance, a y,drill extending through and beyond the small-end of said element, and means to rotate said element and said drill whereby said drill is driven faster than said element.

16. A coal winning device including a support, a planetary gearing including a casing, means connected to said support for holding said casing from rotation, a drill carried by the shaft of said gearing, a threaded substantially cone-shaped wedging element connected to the spider of said gearing, and means to rotate said drill carrying shaft.

17. A coal Winning device including-a planetary gearing having a casing, means to hold said casing from rotation, a threaded substantially cone-shaped Wedging element connected to the spider of said gearing, a drill carried by the shaft of said gearing and extending through and beyond the small end of said element, and means to rotate the drill carrying shaft.

18. A coal winning device including a support, a planetary earing having a casing, a flexible connection between said support and said casing to hold the latter from turning, a threaded substantially coneshaped wedging element connected to the spider of said gearing, a drill carried by the shaft of said gearing and extending through and beyond the small end of said element, a motor mounted on said support, and a flexible driving connection between said drill carrying shaft and said motor.

`19.*A coal Winning device includinga planetary gearing having a casing, means to hold said casing from rotation, a threaded substantially cone-shaped wedging element having a shank connected to the spider of said gearing, a drill carried by the shaft of said gearing and extending through and beyond the small end of said element, an opening in the shank of said element forming an exit for the material removed by said drill,` and means to urotate the drill carrying shaft.

20. In a coal Winning device, the combination of a threaded substantially coneshaped Wedging element adapted to be screwed into the coal being split With its small end in advance, of means associated 'with said element to form a clearance space ment to continuously move therewith simultaneously and at the same rate of'speed into said material and operating in advance of said element to form a hole in the material beingI split of a larger size than that of the small end of said element.

22. A splitting device including a threaded substantially cone-shaped Wedging el- -ment adapted to be screwed into the material being split with its small end in advance, and a drill extending forwardly from the small end of said element and adapted to form a hole in the material being split whereby the small end of said element may readily enter said material.

23. A wedging member for coal winning devices comprising a threaded substantially cone-shaped rotatable element having an operating shank, said shank andsaid element being provided With an axial longitudinal bore.

24. A wedging member for coal Winning devices comprising a threaded substantially cone-shaped rotatable element having an operating shank, said shank and said element being provided With an axial longitudinal bore adapted to receive a drill, and said shank being provided with a transverse slot to form a drillings exit.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOSEPH F. JOY. 

